I am 48 years old, married with two young daughters. My interests are tennis, reading, computers, politics, and of course cocktails. I run a murder mystery party business that caters to both corporate and private events, Killing Time, murder consultants.

Hardy har. I put out pillows on all the nearby sharp corners when I’m fixin’ to think. Are you satisfied?

No.
What do you mean, new friend? Is this guy going to be sticking his oar in on product reviews?

No, he won’t. He’s here to…

‘Cause interrupting you is my gig!
Remember?

I’d love to forget.
At any rate, I’ve been thinking about how I write about products that distillers or promoters send me for review. Over the two years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve received a goodly number of bottles, books, etc. for free. The intent is to get me to write about them, of course.
While I think I have always tried to disclose when something I’m writing about was provided to me instead of something I paid for myself, I’ve examined a few old posts, and I don’t feel that I’ve been consistent in how I do it.
And that’s important.
Independent bloggers like me have no institutional goodwill to lean on. The only way we can build and maintain a readership (which we need, among other reasons, to get liquor companies to send us free booze) is by ensuring that our readers can trust us absolutely. I need you to trust me when I write.

Or at least trust you as much as they can possibly trust a guy who argues in public with his own cocktail shaker-wielding sock puppet.

Um, yeah.
So, I called upon Illustrator to the Cocktail Stars, Craig Mrusek, a.k.a. Dr. Bamboo, to create for me the Liquor Fairy. His job is to tell you when I’m writing about something that I didn’t pay for.
On each post I write for now on where disclosure is needed, you’ll see this at the bottom:

The Liquor Fairy Was Here!The following product(s), ________________, were recently provided to me as promotional consideration to encourage me to discuss them.For a complete disclosure of my policies regarding promotional items and all other financial interests, please click this link, or follow the Liquor Fairy link in the header of this page.

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About the author

Doug

I am 48 years old, married with two young daughters. My interests are tennis, reading, computers, politics, and of course cocktails. I run a murder mystery party business that caters to both corporate and private events, Killing Time, murder consultants.

I’d slam a product that was provided to me if I thought it looked to be systematically defective, or not what it is represented to be. I’d also slam a promotional product that is promoted to me via unsavory methods. So don’t send me a gin and claim it’ll cure my baldness, unless it will. (If you have a gin that WILL cure my baldness, send that bottle NOW)
But if I feel it is something that just isn’t to my personal taste (i.e. a Gin with some aromatic I can’t stand), I’d likely just not write anything about it at all. I’m pretty much following Mom ‘n ’em’s old rule about when you don’t have anything nice to say…. Part of my point here is to disclose that practice however.
You will see the Liquor Fairy on posts that are not raves, but you probably won’t see him listing a product that I just plain don’t like.
Now, if I BUY a bottle and think it stinks, then I’ll feel free to bash it (noting still that my aversion is my personal taste), since there would be skin off my nose—the money I spent for the bottle.

Keep Up With the Party

Quick Hits

The Chemistry Of Gin. In the same series as the aforementioned Chemistry of Whiskey poster.
Personally, I prefer my gins to be more Pinene, Limonene, and Geranyl Acetate-forward, while toning down the Bornyl Acetate notes...
(H/T: LikeCool)